The Ministry of Finance will dedicate the amount to pay Israeli fuel and electricity suppliers
Jan. 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ministry of Finance of the Palestinian Authority announced this Sunday that it has managed to release 400 million euros of funds withheld by Israel as punishment after the massacre committed by Palestinian militias, led by Hamas, on October 7, 2023. the trigger for the current Gaza war.
The Israeli Government, and in particular the Ministry of Finance headed by the ultranationalist Bezalel Smotrich, decided to paralyze these funds – Palestinian taxes of which Israel is the recipient for subsequent redistribution – in retaliation for the passivity, he denounced at the time, of the Palestinian Authority in stopping the activities of Gazan militias in its West Bank jurisdiction.
In January of last year and due to the enormous humanitarian crisis, Israel accepted that Norway would be in charge of managing the funds from the taxes that Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority, also frozen by the refusal of the Palestinian Government to accept them in their entirety because the Israeli authorities refused to hand over the portion corresponding to Gaza.
Now, the Palestinian Ministry of Finance has announced “recent agreements” to release some 1.5 billion shekels (400 million euros) held until now by the “punitive measure” of Israel, which still keeps 2.1 billion shekels (about 556 million) blocked. of euros) corresponding to the 2024 taxes.
The Palestinian Government has indicated that the amount released will not go to Gaza. It will instead be used to pay Israeli fuel companies for weekly purchases over the coming months and settle part of the debts that Palestinian electricity distribution companies owe to the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC).
In fact, Smotrich has confirmed this release, indicating that this money will finally end up reaching the Israeli public coffers.
“The debt of Palestinian companies to the IEC has ended up resulting in very high loans and interest rates, with the consequent damage to the company’s credit and the consequent final impact on the citizens of Israel,” he explained this Sunday to the Council of Ministers.
Smotrich has also assured that the Palestinian Authority will not cover the entire debt it has contracted with the IEC, which according to the minister amounts to almost 2 billion shekels, about 530 million euros.
In its statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Finance insists that the Government continues to work with international partners to release the rest of the withheld amount and “remains committed to mobilizing all possible financial resources to meet its obligations, including the salaries of civil servants. , payments to suppliers and the private sector and the operating costs of hospitals and educational institutions.
This announcement coincides with a moment of enormous tension in the West Bank due to the “security” operation that the Palestinian Authority forces are carrying out, especially in the Jenin refugee camp, against elements of the Palestinian militias in Gaza.
Hamas denounced on Friday the brutal nature of operations that have left, according to the organization, 19 dead so far, and that will have “serious consequences” for the “Palestinian national scene.”
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